Includes liner notes by Ray Topping.
This set is subtitled "The Blues Years: 1952-1959," but, in fact, every year in which Bobby "Blue" Bland recorded was a blues year. More accurately, this essential collection assembles 25 tracks from the years he was recording for the Duke label. This is the material upon which Bland's reputation was built. It is enduring music: blues played by small to mid-size ensembles, complete with sassy horns and a ringing vibraphone.
Bland's wailing voice was, from the outset, a confident and expressive instrument. It's as at home with a sultry ballad as with a snaky groove. His controlled vibrato never overwhelms, and the huskiness of his voice is unmistakable, though he was yet to employ his later trademark grunt/growl. Recorded in the era before multi-tracking, a few well-placed mics nonetheless captured all the elements of this session. In an example of art imitating life, blues recordings from decades later began striving for just such an intimate sound, and generally failing.